Sanaa Lathan and Taye Diggs are part of the ensemble cast of "The Best Man Holiday"

Sanaa Lathan and Taye Diggs are part of the ensemble cast of "The Best Man Holiday"

Photo: Michael Gibson

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Quentin (TERRENCE HOWARD) and Julian (HAROLD PERRINEAU) in "The Best Man Holiday",

Quentin (TERRENCE HOWARD) and Julian (HAROLD PERRINEAU) in "The Best Man Holiday",

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(L to R) Lance (MORRIS CHESTNUT), Harper (TAYE DIGGS), Julian (HAROLD PERRINEAU) and Quentin (TERRENCE HOWARD) share a laugh in "The Best Man Holiday", the long-awaited next chapter to the film that ushered in a new era of comedy. When the college friends finally reunite over the Christmas holidays, they will discover just how easy it is for long-forgotten rivalries and passionate romances to be reignited. less

(L to R) Lance (MORRIS CHESTNUT), Harper (TAYE DIGGS), Julian (HAROLD PERRINEAU) and Quentin (TERRENCE HOWARD) share a laugh in "The Best Man Holiday", the long-awaited next chapter to the film that ushered in ... more

LOS ANGELES - Time was when Christmas movies were as white as a North Pole winter. Such holiday classics as "It's a Wonderful Life" and "Miracle on 34th Street" came to define the American cultural psyche during the holidays for decades. Later films set around Santa's trip down the chimney - including the blockbuster "Home Alone" franchise, with a cumulative gross of $904 million, 1994's "The Santa Clause" and 2003's "Elf" - opened Hollywood's eyes to the upside of decking theater halls with new Christmas stories.

But at the tail end of a banner year for African-American cinema, three new holiday movies written and directed by black filmmakers present an alternate vision to moviedom's traditional White Christmas.

The movie that started the season is "The Best Man Holiday," a pre-Thanksgiving release plotted around the Christmas reunion of an upwardly mobile group of friends and exes, which took in more than $30 million its opening weekend and has grossed an impressive $67 million at U.S. and Canadian theaters.

For Malcolm D. Lee, "The Best Man Holiday's" writer-director, three movies aiming for the intersection of holiday togetherness and black experience this year represents a mixed blessing.

"Three black Christmas movies within six weeks of each other makes it a bit nerve-racking," says Lee, who made his sequel to 1999's "The Best Man" for just $17 million. "But they're all so different. 'Best Man Holiday' is a comedy-drama. 'Madea's Christmas' is definitely a comedy. And ('Black Nativity') is more like a 'Les Misérables'-type of movie, a musical. That's what's great about the spectrum of African-American fare this year. There's a nice diversity of choices for audiences."

There's also been diversity in the films' marketing plans: a "Sex and the City"-styled promo push for "The Best Man Holiday," a Harlem Renaissance pedigree for "Black Nativity" and marquee identification with a hit movie series for "A Madea Christmas." Just as there's not a monolithic black audience, this season's offerings show that there's not one formula for black holiday movies.

Zola Mashariki, who rose through the ranks at Fox Searchlight Films to become the studio's senior vice president of production and co-founded the African Grove Institute for the Arts with playwright August Wilson, says the sudden boom in black Christmas films is emblematic of a larger shift. The films of 2013 have effectively banished Hollywood's accepted logic that African-American movies have to be set in an "urban" milieu to connect with audiences.

"This is a time when so many different stories about black life are being told. That was the dream," Mashariki says. "Thank God we have a time when three different black movies can be released at Christmastime!"

The African-American yuletide-movie boom is such a cultural talking point that last weekend's "Saturday Night Live" skewered the phenomenon with a satirical trailer for a fake film called "White Christmas." It was billed as "the first black holiday movie for white people."

This moment comes less than two years after director Spike Lee told an audience at the Sundance Film Festival that Hollywood studios "know nothing about black people." The firebrand filmmaker also pointed out that there were no African-American movie executives with the "greenlight vote" to approve black projects.

Oscar contenders

This year's unprecedented number of African-American movies, filmmakers and performers considered strong contenders in the annual Oscars derby, and the range of black holiday films, including two with broad commercial appeal, show that studios at least understand there's money and prestige to be gained in movies with black casts and filmmakers.

The year started with Jackie Robinson rounding the bases for home in "42" in the spring and is ending with Nelson Mandela leaving jail for home in "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom" in the winter. In between were the critically well-received "Lee Daniels' The Butler," "12 Years a Slave" and "Fruitvale Station." Together, "The Butler" and "42" brought in more than $200 million.

"12 Years a Slave" and " Lee Daniels' The Butler" earned a total of seven nominations Wednesday for the 20th Screen Actors Guild Awards, solidifying their status as Oscar front-runners.

The SAG Awards honored "12 Years a Slave" with four nominations - more than any other film. The unflinching portrayal of slavery in early America earned a nod for best ensemble cast - the SAG Awards equivalent of best picture. There were nominations as well for male actor in a leading role for Chiwetel Ejiofor and supporting nods for Michael Fassbender and Lupita Nyong'o.

"The Butler" earned three nominations, including best ensemble cast, male actor in a leading role for Forest Whitaker and a supporting nod for Oprah Winfrey.

Checkered history

Before this year, African-American-centered Christmas movies have had a mixed track record. "Last Holiday" (2006) starring Queen Latifah and the ensemble dramedy "The Perfect Holiday" (2007) fizzled upon release. But producer-rapper-actor Ice Cube's 2002 urban holiday comedy "Friday After Next" performed respectably at the box office. And 1996's "The Preacher's Wife" (starring Denzel Washington and Whitney Houston) had a modest theatrical run before posting strong DVD sales.

"This Christmas," a 2007 family film, stands as the genre's breakout hit. Shot on a relatively slim $13 million budget, the film grossed nearly $50 million and convinced many Hollywood studio executives of the financial viability of African-American holiday fare.

"Originally, the producers and the studio wanted to release the movie right at Christmas," says "This Christmas" writer-director Preston Whitmore II. "I objected. If you have a good picture released around Thanksgiving, you can take advantage of two holidays. It performed for five weeks. It got two bumps."

That's the story this year for "The Best Man Holiday," which capitalized on the audience good will that made "The Best Man" a modest hit 14 years ago. It opened Nov. 15 and confounded box-office expectations when it surpassed pre-release tracking estimates. With more than three weeks remaining in the holiday season, the film continues to do strong business.

"The notion of a holiday movie set in the holiday season felt like a destination for a lot of people," Universal Pictures' co-president of production Jeffrey Kirschenbaum says. "And it has a brand underneath it. People who had seen the original came back."

"A lot of women and, in particular, black women are treating this like 'Sex and the City,' " notes "Best Man's" writer-director Lee. "They're organizing parties, book clubs, dinner and a movie; they're going to discuss it afterward. They're gonna go see it again."

Crossover appeal

"A Madea Christmas," Perry's first to be set around the mistletoe season, will have fewer weeks at the box office before Christmas but comes into theaters with proven crossover appeal. It's plotted around a mixed-race couple and features white actors, including Larry the Cable Guy and Kathy Najimy in supporting parts. When Perry's sassy character is coaxed into visiting an overwhelmingly white rural enclave, fish-out-of-water hilarity ensues.

"It was just a matter of time before Madea got to Christmas," fellow director Whitmore notes of Perry's movie persona. "She's been everywhere else."

The year started with Jackie Robinson rounding the bases for home in "42" in the spring and is ending with Nelson Mandela leaving jail for home in "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom" in the winter. In between were the critically well-received "Lee Daniels' The Butler," "12 Years a Slave" and "Fruitvale Station." Together, "The Butler" and "42" brought in more than $200 million.

Checkered history

Before this year, African-American-centered Christmas movies have had a mixed track record. "Last Holiday" (2006) starring Queen Latifah and the ensemble dramedy "The Perfect Holiday" (2007) fizzled upon release. But producer-rapper-actor Ice Cube's 2002 urban holiday comedy "Friday After Next" performed respectably at the box office. And 1996's "The Preacher's Wife" (starring Denzel Washington and Whitney Houston) had a modest theatrical run before posting strong DVD sales.

"This Christmas," a 2007 family film, stands as the genre's breakout hit. Shot on a relatively slim $13 million budget, the film grossed nearly $50 million and convinced many Hollywood studio executives of the financial viability of African-American holiday fare.

"Originally, the producers and the studio wanted to release the movie right at Christmas," says "This Christmas" writer-director Preston Whitmore II. "I objected. If you have a good picture released around Thanksgiving, you can take advantage of two holidays. It performed for five weeks. It got two bumps."

That's the story this year for "The Best Man Holiday," which capitalized on the audience goodwill that made "The Best Man" a modest hit 14 years ago. It opened Nov. 15 and confounded box-office expectations when it surpassed pre-release tracking estimates. With more than three weeks remaining in the holiday season, the film continues to do strong business.

"The notion of a holiday movie set in the holiday season felt like a destination for a lot of people," Universal Pictures' co-president of production Jeffrey Kirschenbaum says. "And it has a brand underneath it. People who had seen the original came back."

"A lot of women and, in particular, black women are treating this like 'Sex and the City,' " notes "Best Man's" writer-director Lee. "They're organizing parties, book clubs, dinner and a movie; they're going to discuss it afterward. They're gonna go see it again."

Crossover appeal

"A Madea Christmas," Perry's first to be set around the mistletoe season, will have fewer weeks at the box office before Christmas but comes into theaters with proven crossover appeal. It's plotted around a mixed-race couple and features white actors, including Larry the Cable Guy and Kathy Najimy in supporting parts. When Perry's sassy character is coaxed into visiting an overwhelmingly white rural enclave, fish-out-of-water hilarity ensues.

"It was just a matter of time before Madea got to Christmas," fellow director Whitmore notes of Perry's movie persona. "She's been everywhere else."